The golf offseason always comes too soon. Fortunately, there are so many distractions between it ending and beginning again, it's the fastest offseason in all of sports. By the time we hit Thanksgiving, my golf depression is in full swing, but all of a sudden it's Christmas time and the new season is just around the corner. This, dear readers, is a very good thing.

The long, drawn out debate over whether belly putters and any other form of anchoring in a putting stroke should be illegal may soon be coming to an end. 

The governing bodies of golf proposed a ban on such practices Wednesday and while it's only step one of the process, all signs point to said ban passing. 

The new rule states that during a stroke, a player cannot anchor the club, either “directly” or by use of an “anchor point.” Prohibited stokes would include a belly putter anchored against the stomach, an anchored long putter to the sternum, the end of the club anchored against the chin, and an anchor point created by the forearm.

Bifurcation should not be a problem going forward and will create an even playing field across all ranks from recreational to professional. In other words, this rule is being put in place everywhere.

A 90 day comment period immediately follows Wednesday's ruling for golfers and industry professionals to talk about the matter and have their opinions expressed, but at this point it already feels like that's all out in the open. It's more of a courtesy and in my opinion, one that is unnecessary. There is not one argument for or against that hasn't already been said. 

Let's just get to the spring, when this rule can become official and then happily watch as the illegal anchoring goes away forever... starting in 2016. 

Yes, 2016. This ban will not be fully implemented until the next publishing of the Rules of Golf in three years. What kind of ridiculous bylaws prohibit the governing bodies to just push this thing through and, seriously, why do they exist? It's a bit maddening. 

We've had three golfers win majors in the past two years using belly putters: Keegan Bradley, 2011 PGA; Webb Simpson, 2012 US Open; and Ernie Els, 2012 British Open. Before I declare an illegal injustice on them, it is worth mentioning that no golfer using a belly putter was ranked in the Top 20 in putting in 2012. To me, that simply says that you don't have to be consistently great at putting for an entire year to win a major, just over a four day period when the tournament is being held. 

I'm going to love not having to watch men in their 20's and 30's slumped over a belly or long putter as if they are ready to start collecting Social Security checks. 

And speaking of our "veteran golfers" (very PC, I know)... I do wonder what this will mean for Champions Tour golfers who are stricken with age-related injuries that might prohibit them from adjusting to the no anchor rule. I'm guessing a One-A-Day multivitamin isn't going to be a great substitute, but then again, these guys do have caddies and if you're unable to swing a putter like everybody else, it's probably time to call it a career anyway.

It's worth considering, but not enough that it should make a difference in the outcome. 

You'll hear all in power within the PGA Tour say this rule is a way to improve the future of golf and keep the rules fair. Believe those words, because they are true. You'll hear some golfers gripe about it and bring up a bunch of lame complaints as well, but just brush those off and look forward to a brighter future for golf... or something like that. 

Players can still use their precious belly and long putters, anyway. They just can't illegally anchor them anymore. Who wants to cheat to win, anyway? 

"We legitimately believe it’s the right thing to do for the game of golf long-term. We know short-term there is going to be some angst over this. We accept that. We don’t like it either. But we want to, once and for all, put this controversial ruling to bed," US Golf Association executive director Mike Davis said.

Let me be the first to offer to tuck it in and read it a bed time story, Mike. Anything for it to rest in peace.

What I'm going to miss most about the golf season freezing over and the PGA Tour taking its annual hiatus is not just the feeling of getting out on the course or being lazy on the couch watching golf. There's more to it, as I'm sure is the case with anyone who has found this blog. I'm a sucker for lists, so let's get started with this one. 

Reasons to miss golfing and watching golf because it's just about winter...

1. The constant back and forth about whether Tiger Woods is back. You'd think this would be something that I WOULD NOT miss, but I'm one of those over analytical people who also enjoys reading the thoughts of other over analytical people. Tiger is polarizing and that always makes fodder for a good column or Twitter rant from any number of people. After a long winter nap, I look forward to jumping right back on the bandwagon as this circus goes for another lap. 

2. Eating a hot dog after the 9th hole. There are few things I like more about golfing than eating while I'm making the turn. Whether it's a hot dog, Snickers or something else off the grill, there is something perfect about the energy you've spent on the first 9 and the way that mid-round snack amps you up for 9 more holes. I can eat a hot dog any time, but at the ball park, on the Fourth of July and between holes 9 and 10 are the best times I can think of. 

3. Cleaning my clubs. I find the process of scrubbing away 18 holes of mostly poor shots and big divots soothing. It's like getting a clean slate for the next time you tee it up. Of course, when I hit a great shot, I swear to never clean the club again because I don't want to wipe off the magic, but I always do. Many don't like having to clean their clubs and many others don't at all, but it's something I always look forward to especially if there's a beer and some good friends around partaking as well. 

4. Pretending I'm a worse golfer than I am on this blog. The fact is, I'm not the worst golfer in the world, as I portray myself to be on here all the time. I shoot in the 80's for 18 holes routinely and while that's not great, it's not terrible either. I'm sure it's where most people on this site end up. However, it's fun to pretend that anytime I pick up a club madness is about to occur and there's a patch of grass that's going to need re-seeding. You can bet that if I was really good, I'd rub it in. But you all probably wouldn't buy that any way. 

5. Promoting deals on the Hurricane Golf Blog. Just kidding. Go sign up for our VIP for exclusive, time-sensitive deals and check back every Monday for a new Deal of the Week. Plus, follow us on Twitter and Facebook. It's nice that you came here for the blog, but the deals are where it's at. Oh, you came for the deals? Well, thanks for stopping by the blog, too. 

This list will be ongoing throughout the winter, so check back often for more and feel free to leave a comment on what you'll miss the most this winter. 

What do you do on the most important day of your life? I guess that really depends on what day you consider that to be and the outside factors that might influence the ability to do said activity, i.e. weather, season, etc...

I'm 27-years-old and a little over a week ago, I experienced what I would consider, to date, the most important day of my life. I got married. 

With all of the nerves, pressure, and chaos that the day was set to bring, I decided to find a familiar comfort zone that would help curb some of the nerves I was feeling. I decided having very close friends and family around me would be good to. I decided to do what I do best (not in practice, but in thought). 

I played golf.

I'm not the first or last man that went golfing on his wedding day. In fact, I've participated in rounds of golf with friends on the morning of their wedding's. But, it was going to be different this time, because I was the one making the leap, and if you've read any of my previous entries in this blog recapping a round of golf, you know that I need all the help I can get... not the distraction. 

After about 30 minutes of sleep, I woke up at 6:45 am and checked the weather. Needless to say, I've woken up to much better weather reports the morning of a most crucial tee time. Layers were going to be needed, for it was 33 degrees outside and wouldn't crest 40 degrees during the entire nine hole journey. I was prepared, though, physically at least (mentally was yet to be determined). Temperatures in the mid-30s don't usually bring about frost bite, but it would be just my luck to show up and give my black, frost-bitten hand to my bride to slip a ring onto.

My group had spoken the night before about calling it off if the weather dipped below 40 degrees, but my best man decided rain, snow, tornado or hurricane, we were playing golf. He hadn't lugged his clubs from North Carolina so they could share the hotel room with he and his wife after all. 

So, we bundled up, grabbed some coffee and went golfing. My initial thoughts about playing nine holes hours before my wedding led me to believe that it would be the worst nine holes I ever played. That was no where near the case, however. What I believed would be a round filled with nervous swings and poor decision making turned into a sense of calm on the course I had not previously felt. 

Somehow, it was the most at peace I had ever been on the course. The life changing events that would happen later in the day put golf in perspective. It didn't matter what my score on the card was at the end of nine holes in the grand scheme of life. That knowledge helped me not over-think every shot, nor get too down when my ball yearned for an outing at the beach (which happened more times than any other round I've ever played). The sense of nerve that could have proved crippling never surfaced. No flood of emotions made me unfocused and unable to decide if a nine iron or pitching wedge would be the right club on that day. 

There are times in life when we are pleasantly surprised at the way events play out. For me, those nine holes on my wedding day were exactly that. It was more than the best company a guy could ask for, or a beautiful day despite the chilling wind. 

You might say, it was once in a lifetime.  

It was Sunday afternoon and I was just riding along in the back seat of a car wondering why we were being blessed with such beautiful weather this past weekend when my phone rang. It was my dad...

Dad: "Hey, listen, what's going on with this Ryder Cup?" he asked. 

Me" "Last I saw, we were up 10-6 and looking pretty strong," I replied

Dad: "Alright, great. So I guess I don't really need to watch all afternoon, huh?" he said. 

Me: "Probably not. It looks pretty well in-hand, but I'd check back later this afternoon to watch us march to victory."

I should have known then that the US Team was dead in the water. I never talk like that about any sport or any situation. I'm the ultimate sports pessimist and all of my friends would agree. I rarely see the silver lining and always wonder when things are going to make a turn for the worse. 

Growing up near Cleveland will do that to you.

For some reason, I had a lot of optimism for Team USA in the Ryder Cup this weekend. Maybe it was because I felt like it was being battled in my back yard at Medinah, or maybe that seeing Brandt Snedeker dominate so strongly to win the TOUR Championship and FedEx Cup had me feeling good vibes. You know, that whole momentum carrying over thing...

I would really like to sit here and just pick apart Davis Love and his entire Ryder Cup team, but it almost feels too easy, like I should be challenging myself to put aside any bias I had in this tournament and let positive thoughts about how great Team Europe was down the stretch fly from my keyboard. 

But, there's that whole sports pessimistic thing that holds me back from giving Rory and the international players their due. They didn't win, we choked it away, I tell myself. If Love had played Mickelson and Bradley on Saturday, we would have built a truly insurmountable lead going into Sunday, I say. This whole thing was fixed and played out so ratings would hit record numbers so TV big wigs could roll around in green backs while we suffer, I conspire. 

As you can see, my thought process has not been entirely sane over the past two days, which is exactly why I made myself wait to start writing up my report on what should have been a star spangled, ramparts red glare, USA! USA! USA! celebration. But, it simply wasn't to be. 

Instead, we get to wait another two years to give it another shot. Which is great, because I'm most known for being a patient person who does not seek immediate and direct retaliation when something I deem bad happens. No, really.... I'm not. 

In the end, Team USA choked. That may be the most hated sentence I've ever written that will post to this blog. But as much as I'm a pessimist, I'm not unable to see what truly happened.

And I should have seen it coming. I certainly won't soon forget it.

International competition tends to bring out the best and worst in fans. No matter which side fan behavior leans toward, it's a unique aspect that gives any Country A vs. Country B competition a special atmosphere that can't be duplicated in domestic play. Bragging rights are on the line. Legendary status in the golf world is there for the taking. No prize money is awarded to the winner, but no dollar amount can replace the pride that comes with victory.

Welcome to the 2012 Ryder Cup. 

It's country versus continent. Fifty states versus 47 countries. The Ryder Cup began in 1927 and has seen some format changes over the years. From 1927-1971, it was USA vs. Great Britain. Ireland was added to Great Britain's arsenal from 1973-1977 and since 1979 all European countries have been included to face the United States. What should seem like a huge competitive disadvantage for the United States is actually not the case. Team USA has a 25-11-2 record, while Team Europe (including years as GB and GB/IRE) has not had such a great run with an 11-25-2 record. 

Yet, that doesn't truly capture the modern day tale of the Ryder Cup because even though history has favored the USA, the past decade-and-a-half has not been so kind. Team Europe has won six of the last eight competitions and has held a strong home field advantage by not defending their home turf successfully since 1993. Team Europe won by one point in 2010, bettering the Americans 14.5 to 13.5 at the Celtic Manor Resort in City of Newport, Wales.

That home field advantage will not be such a dominant factor this year because the Ryder Cup is being played on US soil at Medinah Country Club in Medinah, IL. Major championships in the United States have been won twice by Americans this year (Bubba Watson, Masters; Webb Simpson, US Open) and twice by international players including Team Europe phenom Rory McIlroy (PGA Championship).

This year is shaping up to be one of the tightest competitions in years, and that's saying a lot after closely contested matchup in 2010. Just take a look at the rosters for this year:

Team USA

Captain: Davis Love III

Keegan Bradley

Jason Dufner

Jim Furyk

Dustin Johnson

Zach Johnson

Matt Kuchar

Phil Mickelson

Webb Simpson

Brandt Snedeker

Steve Stricker

Bubba Watson

Tiger Woods

Team Europe

Captain: Jose Maria Olazabal

Nicolas Colsaerts, Belgium

Luke Donald, England

Sergio Garcia, Spain

Peter Hanson, Sweden

Martin Kaymer, Germany

Paul Lawrie, Scotland

Graeme McDowell, Northern Ireland

Rory McIlroy, Northern Ireland

Francesco Molinari, Italy

Ian Poulter, England

Justin Rose, South Africa

Lee Westwood, England

What to like about Team USA: Two 2012 major championship winners... Brandt Snedeker just dominated the TOUR Championship enroute to winning the FedEx Cup... Tiger Woods has been resurgent in 2012 and if he does get paired with McIlroy, he's got a track record of playing great golf... veterans Jim Furyk, Phil Mickelson and Steve Stricker excel in Ryder Cup play... Keegan Bradley, Dustin Johnson, Zach Johnson and Jason Dufner may have hot and cold golf games, but when they're hot, they're scolding hot.

What to like about Team Europe: Rory McIlroy... Rory McIlroy... Rory McIlroy... Graeme McDowell, Luke Donald and Martin Kaymer have a tendency to get white hot in very key moments... Lee Westwood and Sergio Garcia seem destined for a breakout anytime now... Nicolas Colsaerts and Francesco Molinari are young enough to not quite grasp the magnitude of the competition and with such high stakes that youthful ignorance could very well be the key to their success (think Anthony Kim in 2008).

Friday Foursome Match Ups and Picks

Match 1: Jim Furyk and Brandt Snedeker vs. Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell (8:20 a.m. ET) 

Pick: McIlroy and McDowell

Match 2: Phil Mickelson and Keegan Bradley vs. Luke Donald and Sergio Garcia (8:35 a.m. ET)

Pick: Mickelson and Bradley

Match 3: Zach Johnson and Jason Dufner vs. Lee Westwood and Francesco Molinari (8:50 a.m. ET) 

Pick: Westwood and Molinari

Match 4: Steve Stricker and Tiger Woods vs. Justin Rose and Ian Poulter (9:05 a.m. ET) 

Pick: Stricker and Woods

Team USA: 2, Team Europe: 2

The Summer Olympics may have come and gone, but for golf, the gold medals are on the line. 

The FedEx Cup used to be an extremely clunky playoff system that the media and fans treated with no reverance whatsoever. It didn't mean anything to win it other than the paycheck and the trophy. That's not how postseason sports are generally revered. It's not about the money - it's about the prestige, bragging rights and etching ones name into the archives as champion forever. 

Winning the FedEx Cup isn't like adding a major championship win to a golfer's resume, but after 5 years of tweaks that have brought a competitive balance and excitement to each of the four tournaments, it's a playoff system that golfers are starting to take very seriously - and want their name attached to as its champion.

The PGA Tour was very smart in creating this playoff system, but not becoming beholden to the original format. Tiger Woods won the first tournament by 12,578 points. He amassed 123,033 and had 30,574 going into the first tournament. Somwhere along the way he earned another 92.459 points, won the BMW Championship and TOUR Championship, while most fans and media sat around wondering what the point of all this was. No one wants to keep track of over 90,000 points and how each was earned over a months time. 

Vijay Singh followed Woods as champion, winning The Barclays and Deutsche Bank Championship in 2008. He edged Camilo Villegas by only 551 points. Problem is, he didn't even need to play in the TOUR Championship to win the Cup. 

Woods returned as champion in 2009 with a reformatted system designed to make the TOUR Championship be the most important tournament of the series because it became virtually impossible to win the FedEx Cup after only three tournaments had been played. The number of points awarded was scaled back to a manageable amount, which if nothing else simply just made sense to do. 

The FedEx Cup really started to heat up in 2010 when Jim Furyk went on a magnificent run and clinched the playoff win by winning the TOUR Championship. The 2011 playoffs were even better, with Bill Haas securing his victory due to a spectacular closing performance that gave him the narrowest margin of victory yet, a mere 15 points.

Which brings us to 2012. There has been a buzz around the playoffs this year that I haven't felt in the previous five years. Most of that centers around the newfound rivalry of Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy. Cut throat, it is not, but that doesn't have to be the basis of a rivalry. Woods has been seen playing great golf when he's paired with McIlroy and that's great for the game. What's better is the dominance McIlroy has shown throughout the playoffs and he's doing it with a youthful charm and attacking mentality that endears him to the fans and media. 

Like Woods and Singh before him, he's already won two tournaments: the Deutsche Bank Championship and BMW Championship. Woods won the last two tournaments in 2007, Singh the first two and now McIlroy has already won the middle two which means if he does take home the title, the surest route to victory is winning half the tournaments - which is obviously much easier said than done.

It's no surprise that McIlroy has been so dominant this year, we've always expected it. It's just much more on our radar because he's played more on the PGA Tour in 2012 and declared that he wanted to win this playoff series last year. 

It will be a longshot for any golfer to over take McIlroy to win the FedEx Cup, but here are the key players hoping to spoil his party:

Tiger Woods (-3,232) If he wins the TOUR Championship, he's the FedEx Cup champion. It's as simple as that. How epic would it be to have Woods and McIlroy battling down the stretch on the back 9 Sunday? Imagine the tension that will bring to the Ryder Cup. Imagine how much a win would vindicate Woods after he's struggled to find his form for so long and close out tournaments. Finally, imagine the TV ratings and instant classic status this scenario would create. Please?

Nick Watney (-3,713), Phil Mickelson (-3,879), Brandt Snedeker (-3,942)

If they win Sunday, they win it all. Each has a reasonable chance of winning if they don't win the tournament, but the margin for error in that case is very high. 

Twenty five other golfers have a chance to win the FedEx Cup if they win the TOUR Championship and a million other things go their way including: Dustin Johnson, Lee Westwood, Zach Johnson, Jason Dufner, and Bubba Watson. They are very long shots, but we have come to know that anything can happen through four rounds of golf. Anything. 

Picks

It has been a long time since I've struggled this much to make picks, but that's what happens when the future of golf and one of the best of all time go head-to-head, 1 vs. 2, in a winner take all contest. My mind is telling me McIlroy is the pick, while my heart really wants to see Tiger win a nail-biter that we won't soon forget. Yet, it's not as easy as picking one or the other. There are very strong golfers behind the top two and all they've got to do is win. The more I think about these picks, the worst I normally do, so let's just get on with it, shall we?

1. Rory McIlroy

2. Tiger Woods

3. Jason Dufner

4. Dustin Johnson

5. Phil Mickelson

Am I using reverse pyschology to try and will Woods to a victory? Not exactly, because I would be perfectly content watching McIlroy win this thing as well. However, and I wrote about it earlier this week, if we can just get Woods and McIlroy battling again I would be more than satisfied. And if the PGA Tour really wants to put this playoff series over with fans who are on the fence about it, there could be no better way. 

It's no secret that I was a little down on the BMW Championship this year. It had always been played at Cog Hill since I moved to Chicago four years ago and this year it moved to Carmel, IN at Crooked Stick GC. It's not that I have anything personal against Carmel or Crooked Stick - it was a fine course and visually pleasing - but there's something to be said about having a very meaningful, big time golf tournament essentially in your back yard. Maybe in the future, the BMW will return to Dubsdread at Cog Hill, because it is a worthy home and I've wanted to cover it live since I started writing this blog a few years ago.

Being there live this year would have been quite the treat. For years the only time Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy were involved in the same sentence was when McIlroy had something to say about Woods, usually about not being afraid and feeling he was just as good. 

Boy is that ever the case, now. We've seen Woods really play up to his potential when paired with McIlroy lately. He makes putts, takes risks and finally reaps rewards. There must be something about McIlroy's aura that brings out the good-golf-playing-competitor in Woods. It's just one of those things. Woods never had a huge competitor - not even Mickelson all the directly - but maybe, just maybe, McIlroy will become to Woods what Bird was to Magic. 

That may be a stretch, but we've been seeing something different out of Woods lately since he's been paired with McIlroy so often. Woods normally gets off to a hot start against McIlroy, but it's the Irish sensation who has been closing tournaments and racking up trophies these past two years. He's won three out of four tournaments and is poised to take the FedEx Cup title if he doesn't completely self-combust at the TOUR Championship. 

No signs point to him doing that, and that's great for golf fans. He's as fun to watch when he's on fire as Woods ever was, and that's about as high of praise as you can get. He plays inventive shots and walks the fairways with the same swagger Woods once did. 

Our only hope should be for Woods to fully recapture his brilliance so we can see these two go at for years to come. Luckily, the Ryder Cup is right around the corner and we'll hopefully get another serving of Old Guard vs. New Guard. 

It's great for the game. 

It's playoff time on the PGA Tour. 

Don't get excited for an NCAA Tournament, single-elimination, style contest though. This playoffs is spread out over the next month and it's based on a points system average golf fans most likely don't understand. 

But, that's not the point. All you need to know is whoever has the most points after the TOUR Championship in September is the winner. Follow the tournaments, check the points, done deal. I'm warning you now to not delve deep into the details of how everything is scored or how one goes about winning this. 

Take it at face value. 

That's something I didn't do the previous two years. The first year I wrote for this blog I went on a tirade about how awful the playoff was and how the scoring was too contrite to make any amount of logical sense. With a few tweaks, I ended up liking it last year, but put myself too far in the red trying to predict everything and figure out who would win based on the scoring. 

Now, I'm just along for the ride. Most points wins... now lets tee it up. 

The Barclays is already under way and the featured pairing of Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy (and Zach Johnson, but really, who paid attention to him?) and Woods came out victorious 68-69. That's a good first day for Tiger and I'm sure it felt good to him to be able to get some bragging rights over Rory for even a day. 

Mickelson even returned to form on Thursday, shooting a 68. He expects low rounds throughout the tournament and if he plays like he did Thursday, he'll get his wish. 

These tournaments have Ryder Cup implications this year, which makes them even more compelling. When there is no Ryder Cup to look forward to during these tournaments, they have a way of getting a little stale, but there are implications for some golfers (Padraig Harrington at the top of that list) to play well in order to make the team. 

I have a good feeling about McIlroy this week, as well as Dustin Johnson (defending Barclays champ) and Sergio Garcia. That's as far as I'm going with picks in this opening round. I'll pick up a more definitive tone next week and in future tournaments. 

Until then, just watch, enjoy, and don't dig too deep. You might not like what you find. 

Follow live coverage throughout the day here.

Is there ever a bad time go golfing? That, dear readers, is a question that would appear to have an obvious answer: of course there is never a bad time to go golfing, it is one of the greateast activities that we, as humans, can do. 

If you want to play spoiler, go ahead and throw in during a thunderstorm and the dead of winter as bad times to golf. Other than weather, there are not many things that make for a bad time to golf. 

But maybe since we are all amateur golfers ranging from complete hacks to club pros, the fun of the game only gets stripped down when we're duffing shots or being held up by a foursome of snails. 

No matter how much we love golf, there are always rounds that make us want to be anywhere but standing on a golf course. The reasons vary, sure, but we've all had those days. Fortunately for all of us, when we're having a bad day, it isn't being broadcast to the whole world. 

A bad day of golf for a PGA Tour is much different. It's dissected, critiqued and filed somewhere in each players legacy to be reviewed now and forever. No one knows this better than Tiger Woods. He built up a legacy binder that was filled with great moments under the "Reasons Tiger Will Be the Greatest Of All Time" tab and now we seem to be putting a lot more evidence under the "Reasons Tiger Will Not Catch Jack's Major Championship Record." 

It's maddening to write about each week, and I can't imagine having to live it. The great thing about playing golf simply for fun is that we never have to worry about our legacy or whether or not a missed putt is going to affect our bank account significantly. I'm very happy about that, honestly because if my income depended on my golf game, I'd be living under a highway without even a cardboard box to sleep in. 

For many of us, there are very few times when playing golf isn't a great option. That's not so on the PGA Tour. It has to be hard to WANT to play golf all the time when it's all you do in the first place. Throw in scheduled media and sponsor obligations and it has to make you wonder how any of the guys on the PGA Tour can continue to keep a sane mind throughout the whole process. 

I'm sure there are many on the Tour that would love to be able to simply go out for 18 holes one day without any care in the world. There are probably a lot of golfers who do get to do that, but not as often as the rest of us. Maybe we don't love the game enough to be able to devote our lives to it and make millions of dollars, but I have to think we get some kind of satisfaction out the game that most Tour players will never get - or haven't been able to get back after turning pro. 

Would I trade that feeling for the paychecks these guys get every week? Absolutely. But, that's not the point. Playing golf even when it's not a good time to, for us, is still a good time to play golf. And that's the point. If you love the game, there really never is a bad time to go golfing. It's what happens on the course during the round that makes it seem like you never should have left the couch sometimes. 

Yet, even through the bad times, we all continue to tee it up and chop our way around the golf course. It's one of the biggest reasons that it's so hard to answer the question, "If you suck at this so bad, why do you keep putting yourself through the misery?"

Because that misery is still better than most things. And, that misery is fun (somehow). Playing golf isn't always about how good you do, it's about the experience. I think if a lot of Tour players were able to remember that (and maybe they do) they'd find their good walk isn't so spoiled after all. 

All I know is this... whether I shoot in the 70's, 90's or 100's, I'm still going to be happy I spent time on the course. That level of happiness may vary, but it's still there and I hope it always is. 

Because if there really ever does become a time where it's not good to play golf, well... I just don't even want to think of it. Neither should you. And, neither should they. 

I think it's time - a good time - to go play some golf. 

Til next time...